What she said.

NEW RELEASE: Crushingly Close by Stella Torres

It’s always good news when someone from the Filipino writing community releases something new, and this year’s seen a lot of them so far! (Great job, everyone!) Today, I’m bringing your attention to a new book by friend and author Stella Torres. Crushingly Close is coming out on July 19!

Crushingly Close
by Stella Torres

At twenty-four years old, Agnes Escueta has risen from the ranks to become a producer for Sports Tonight. No one can touch her, it seems—not even crush-worthy anchorman Daniel Ferrer, who she gets to work with every single day. When a road trip to Indonesia throws Agnes and Daniel together, they find themselves working in close quarters. It doesn’t take long before Agnes finds herself being charmed by Daniel, and her defenses start to melt with his touch. With deadlines looming and a big game coming, Agnes must figure out how to let Daniel into her life without risking her professional reputation—and without breaking her own heart.

Crushingly Close
– EXCERPT –

My gaze fell on the containers of sugar and creamer that Daniel had taken out of the cupboard. “I thought you took your coffee black?”

“I thought I’d take them out for you.”

I may not swoon at the feet of Daniel Ferrer on command, but I wouldn’t deny that he was handsome. His hair was short enough to keep the emphasis on his almond eyes and sharp cheekbones. His skin had the kind of glow that came from running at the break of dawn, which he always talked about as part of his regular-day workout routine. And while he cut an impressive figure whenever he showed up in his suit and tie on-screen, the jeans and polo shirts that he wore to work showed off his lean muscles, especially in his arms and chest.

And his abs.

And his butt.

There, I’ve said it. Daniel Ferrer had a hot bod. But his body was beside the point. First and foremost, he was a co-worker, and co-workers weren’t supposed to think of each other that way.

Right? Right.

He smiled like he knew how his presence would affect me. “You look like you’ve got a lot of things on your mind.”

Of course I had a lot of things on my mind. We had a show to produce tonight, and a meeting in two hours about our trip to Jakarta for the football friendly between the Philippines and Indonesia. Not to mention the text messages that I wasn’t getting from my mother and brother…

“You make this face whenever you’re worried,” Daniel said.

“What face?”

He pointed to my mouth. “See that? Your lips curve downward when you press them together.”

“No, they don’t.”

“You’re making that face again.” He cocked his head to the side and leaned forward. “See? Your lips press hard, and your eyebrows scrunch in the middle of your forehead. Then your eyes go blank, like you’re spacing out.”

“I don’t space out.”

“Really? Then why haven’t you stirred any cream and sugar into your coffee?”

I looked down into my cup, and—just as Daniel said—my coffee was still black.

“It’s getting cold,” he said. “Here, have a spoon.”

About the Author

Stella Torres is the author of Save the Cake and the short story “Be Creative” from Kids These Days: Stories from Luna East Arts Academy (Vol. 1)). She has a bachelor’s degree in English literature and worked briefly in public relations, but has chosen to pursue her post-graduate studies in the field of education. She loves dark chocolate, hates flyaways, and is constantly in search of comfortable shoes.